Fraudster branded 'danger to public health' after he admitted selling urine as WHISKY

A FRAUDSTER has been branded "a danger to public health" after he admitted selling coloured urine as WHISKY.

Nicholas Stewart duped customers into thinking they were buying whisky and vodka

Nicholas Stewart duped holidaymakers in Blackpool, Lancashire into purchasing bottles of what they thought were sealed, one-and-a-half litre bottles of whisky and vodka, magistrates' were told today.

The court heard how Stewart, 35, from Blackpool, had used bottles of Smirnoff and Jack Daniels - which he had managed to reseal - to trick his customers into thinking they were buying the real thing.

The bottles, for which he charged £10 each, were seized by security staff when Stewart was seen approaching customers at the popular Coral Island slot machine complex.

But the true horror of his scam was only discovered after scientific analysis revealed how some of the bottles contained flat cola, while others consisted of urine and other human waste.

Blackpool Council are now working with the police to seek a Criminal Anti-Social Behaviour Order (CRASBO) against Stewart following the alcohol scam.

They were water laced with urine and faeces probably to give the so called whisky colour

Victoria Cartmell

Council prosecutor Victoria Cartmell told Blackpool Magistrates' Court: "We are working with the police and will apply to the courts for a CRASBO against Mr Stewart forbidding him from selling anything in Blackpool.

"Two of the bottles seized from him were sent for analysis. They were purported to contain whisky and vodka.

"But they were water laced with urine and faeces probably to give the so called whisky colour."

She added: "They were totally unsuitable for public consumption - they were hazardous and contained dangerous e-coli bacteria.

"This man is has been involved in 32 incidents and is a persistent and troublesome offender."

Martin Hillson, defending, said he would be objecting to the CRASBO because it would ban his client from selling The Big Issue magazine.

He said: "It is a blanket ban in a set geographical area."

At an earlier hearing, Mr Hillson said Stewart had carried out the deception because he needed money for food.

Sentencing Stewart to a 70 day jail term, suspended for 12 months, after he admitted fraud, magistrates' told him: "You are a danger to public health."